Although you can check the space on the hard disk and connected USB devices as Martin has suggested, unfortunately the USER drive is not included in the 'Device List' on the T4's UTILITY > MEDIA screen.

However, you can check the USER drive space as described in the post at this link...

Fred Smith and any others who might be interested :With all due respect. My words were never "a knock" against you ( Fred ) , nor the T4 , nor anyone, other than my own issues with comprehending yamaha architecture and computers in general.

I am not apologizing, but merely explaining my apparently odd way with expressing myself in my posts, esp the last one. In the past I have knocked the T4. But I have been having a change of attitude ... a welcome one, where I see the pluses of T4, far out shadow any downsides.

Ken, I would appreciate it, if you would just "let it go" ( my unclear misleading post) , so we can continue with my slowly learning how to get around the uniquely amazing t4.I DO appreciate you and others' feedback very much.

I want to reiterate what I have said before... I am using the t4 in a new way.To me it could even be considered an art form ... namely responding spontaneously to the MIDI files after pressing play. There are untold, almost endless ways to respond to a midi file ( Yamaha music soft) during a live performance of casual background music... ranging from lazily and un creatively, to creatively in an improvising mode.

I am blessed to have a gig (I am hoping continues). In it, I play only instrumentally. I respond to the MDI files without rehearsal or preparations. It is a challenge that both I and the audiences seem to be appreciating.

There are many approaches to this kind of keyboard... but I never used it as it was designed... playing left hand chords, with ACCOMPANIMENTS on. This may be why you say I am overcomplicating the T4.

1. My original approach, 8-9 years ago, was as a mere keyboard with a drum machine. I viewed t4 as the best drum machine available

2. On occasion, I have used t4 as a keyboard ONLY.. no drum styles. I missed weighted action though, in this mode.

3. In my most recent approach, I am mainly using t4 for its Song mode merged with live playing, merged with editing all parts ( 16 MIDI and L plus 3 R sounds ) on the fly, "in real time", as the modern colloquialism has it. This is an exciting new way to use t4. and thanks to the gig, has been slowly evolving over the past 2-3 years. Without the audience acceptance , I would never use t4 in this way.

Thanks for your understanding

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I use T4 as a drum machine. Playing my own acmp and bass. MIDI songs are my latest interest. If anyone wishes to share knowledge on MIDI songs let me know.

I am a highly creative jazz, blues, older pop, musician, who did session work in NYC back in the heyday. I played sax ( no longer ) still play elec bass, organ, and keyboards

So improv is very natural to me.I studied harmony from a number of points of view, Classical, jazz, and even a famous arranger named Spud Murphy.

The t4 came into my life due to lack of work after the 90's , when 5 night gigs still were available.

I just hit play on any given MIDI, and throw caution to the wind. The worst thing that happens, is all of a sudden some loud string part, or a loud guitar solo will surprise me.. I have to quickly go to mixer and search for the offending part(s)!!

When I was younger... i once in a while, would take a risk like... running in the woods of an unexplored area with no path.. a broken ankle could easily happen.I did this also on these large rocks that jut ( jetty!!) out into the ocean... I just start running on them.This is my risk-taking though usually cautious nature, as expressed with throwing caution to the wind. pressing play and not embarrassing myself!

I am thinking if I start altering the mixes of the MIDI and start learning the chords.. it will take some of the excitement away. I suppose I will do this as time goes by. When I do, I hope I can still be equally creative in my responses to the MIDIs

a word about the MIDI Songs... I went to the highly buggy yamaha music soft site and painstakingly auditioned samples of MIDI songs among many thousands. My batting average with choosing them, is like this

a total of about 130 songs ( about $700 ) 1. about 10 or 15 of the tracks are just killer, absolutely amazing2. a few are "dogs", sound too crappy to perform with... the instruments chosen or the lack of a groove, are main reasons . 3. the vast majority are playable

I am very pleased with MIDI songs from Yamaha because for 30 years I was ignorant of them. I regret not getting into MIDI back then... a costly error, in terms of my career.

There are at least 50 more I will buy when I get the $220 for them!

I am here to assist you in anyway I can, though not technically, for that we have this forum. But whatever I can offer from musical standpoint ... I am here to help.

« Last Edit: February 23, 2020, 04:26:30 PM by sugarplumsss »

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I use T4 as a drum machine. Playing my own acmp and bass. MIDI songs are my latest interest. If anyone wishes to share knowledge on MIDI songs let me know.

I press play on MIDI Song, either as a saved registration where the song is linkedThis is a better way, but I am far far from having the 4 parts ( Left, R1 R2 R3 ) setup as I will, down stream So I mostly just choose the MIDI from the Song section directly The advantage of this, is the ( Left, R1 R2 R3 ) are consistently mixed from song to song. I am hyper sensitive to the sound, I cannot perform when sound is "bad" for me. So i keep massaging the ( Left, R1 R2 R3 ) sound ( balance eq, efx mix between voices and between the track and the keyboard!) for a few hours till it is satisfying.

I have no idea how to mix at home.. I do not believe you can mix effectively at home. You can try, you can maybe avoid extreme parts that are way off the charts, but I am a perfectionist with music, and I need to mix on the job. The live sound is always in need of adjustments... and each of the MIDI tracks are only roughly the same volume! Consequently, I usually lower the master volume before pressing play... I do not want a rude shock for me and audience. Then I will raise the volume .. it is not easy. I wish I had an engineer.

i played an EIGHT hour solo gig yesterday... and here is how it ( Left, R1 R2 R3 ) "shook out": I basically favored Electric piano sounds... I shut off the left hand ( which always has bass voice,,, so no left hand bass ) so whole keyboard is electric pianoIt took a few hours to get the sound of piano acceptable to my ear.The constant issue is matching the volume of the track with the volume of the keyboard ( ( Left , R1 R2 R3 ) partSometimes I used left hand bass voice to punctuate the track

A few times I turned the bass off the MIDI, and played bass

Martin , the possibilities are mind boggling.. there are so so so many ways to perform this wayHere is a wild one. you can turn on a style file along with the MIDI track!!

If you have better understanding of architecture of t4, I would like to ask you questions.. I am all about being a musician and slow as can be about tech.

« Last Edit: February 23, 2020, 04:33:48 PM by sugarplumsss »

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I use T4 as a drum machine. Playing my own acmp and bass. MIDI songs are my latest interest. If anyone wishes to share knowledge on MIDI songs let me know.

I am not apologizing, but merely explaining my apparently odd way with expressing myself in my posts, esp the last one. In the past I have knocked the T4. But I have been having a change of attitude ... a welcome one, where I see the pluses of T4, far out shadow any downsides.

We weren't expecting an apology, John.

We did think you were looking for solutions to your problems. Are we mistaken?

I never expect to fully grasp the t4 in this lifetime. I just ask questions as the need comes up. The smartest most articulate teacher of ( Martin from Yamaha ) computers could not easily break through my lack of acumen for this.I have found a way to use t4 to good effect in spite of this!

Yes, I am continuously looking to unravel the mysteries of t4, Fred!

Thank you all for patience and time spent answering questions

« Last Edit: February 23, 2020, 09:01:07 PM by sugarplumsss »

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I use T4 as a drum machine. Playing my own acmp and bass. MIDI songs are my latest interest. If anyone wishes to share knowledge on MIDI songs let me know.

Maybe there is no difference between playing along with a style and playing along with a MIDI Song. My knowledge of t4 is barely beginner level.

But I want to say, you can learn so much about music with MIDI songs. you can isolate each of the 16 parts... change octave of a part to hear it better. Or change instrument playing the part. Mute all parts and just hear the one part.MIDI Songs are a great learning tool.

On a gig, you could mute the bass part, and play bass yourself... ditto for solo parts, lead lines.. I am so glad I discovered MIDI songs, from Yamaha.What if you always wondered how a favorite recordings created a certain effect... the MIDI tracks often come close.The bass lines are often close to original. Imagine paying a teacher or a transcriber to show you the bass line!!A MIDI track is between $3 and $9. Well worth it.

Not all MIDI files are of same musical accuracy and quality. You have spend time auditioning samples. I am referring to Yamaha Music SoftBut as many times as I attempted to get some free MIDI, the results were disappointing. But one time, I had a wedding ceremony to do.. The client requested JS Bach Air On a G String At first I thought, "me and guitar player will be able to handle it"... But the more I heard it, the more I realized there is no way I could play four part counterpoint So somehow or other, I got lucky and found a free MIDI file, that "played" the sounds on T4 very satisfactorily. I used it at the wedding.

« Last Edit: February 26, 2020, 08:39:13 AM by sugarplumsss »

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I use T4 as a drum machine. Playing my own acmp and bass. MIDI songs are my latest interest. If anyone wishes to share knowledge on MIDI songs let me know.